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squeezebox
01-08-2014, 12:57
It sounds like most people are using the Awol book. I've got the the Thru hikier's companion, and the Data book. and the set of guide books. But I guess the Awol is different , I saw it on Amazon.

max patch
01-08-2014, 12:59
Either AWOL or Companion will work. Since you already have the Companion there is no need to get AWOL.

swjohnsey
01-08-2014, 13:01
I've used both, like AWOL's best.

Prime Time
01-08-2014, 13:07
They're both good but it does seem as though the vast majority of people use AWOL mainly because of the profile elevations and pinpointed locations along the profile. This makes knowing where you are at any given moment much easier. I used it and would recommend it for the profile and just to be using the same source as everyone else. I also would recommend the unbound copy so you can just have the pages you need for a given section, and have the page you need for any given day easily accessible.

max patch
01-08-2014, 13:42
In response to everyone who recommended AWOL because of the profiles the Companion added them this year. Profiles are really unnecessary - everyone carries maps, right? - but now both books have them. ALDHA did a good job on the profiles.

Sly
01-08-2014, 15:05
They're both good but it does seem as though the vast majority of people use AWOL mainly because of the profile elevations and pinpointed locations along the profile. This makes knowing where you are at any given moment much easier. I used it and would recommend it for the profile and just to be using the same source as everyone else. I also would recommend the unbound copy so you can just have the pages you need for a given section, and have the page you need for any given day easily accessible.

The source for mileages for both the Thru-hikers' Companion and the AT Guide is the ATC Data Book, afterall it's the "official source". All towns and locations should fall on the same mile marker. Anyone with halfway decent dead reckoning skills should be able to pinpoint where they are at any given time.

Here's a sample of the new elevation profiles in the Companion.

25515

Sly
01-08-2014, 15:14
It sounds like most people are using the Awol book. I've got the the Thru hikier's companion, and the Data book. and the set of guide books. But I guess the Awol is different , I saw it on Amazon.

Squeezebox you'll be fine. There's nothing in the AT Guide (over the Companion) that's going to make it any easier to get to Katahdin. As a matter of fact the state guidebook has lots more info than either for on trail guidance, if you don't mind the little extra weight.

moldy
01-08-2014, 16:07
The difference between the 2 is slight. The cost is about the same, about the same size and weight. The information is about the same. They are organized about the same. For several years now the AWOL guide has won out in popularity and has a reputation for being more in tune with hiker wants. The Thru-hikers Companion was seen by some including myself as rigid and stuck in the mud, not robust or aggressive with updates, and not willing chance any radical improvements. Then I received the new and improved 2114 Companion. The new profile maps have made it much better.
There is no longer much difference between the 2.
I will never be happy with either book. As a left over hippie from the 60's I want the Abby Hoffman version, steal-this-book style that rails against the clubs and lists all the good illegal places to camp, or get cheap gear or how to deal with the laundry in Kent that keeps out hikers.
I want a guide book that helps me stay for free in the Whites or how to avoid the ridgerunners in the Smokeys and where to make that big campfire in New Jersey so the rangers can't find me. The Outlaw hikers companion?

lonehiker
01-08-2014, 16:26
As a matter of fact the state guidebook has lots more info than either for on trail guidance, if you don't mind the little extra weight.

This is a true statement, however, I doubt you will find many thru-hikes using them. They will sit on your bookshelves (or in box) for 10-15 years before you finally throw them away. Sections hikers might use them a bit more. Back to the point of the original post, you don't need to buy AWOL's book just because most everyone is using it. The companion will serve you well. That being said, I bought all of it in 2008 to include Wingfoot's book (can't remember the name of the guy that produced it that year). I finally went with the Appalachian Pages as at the time I liked the idea that it was a newer product.

Don H
01-08-2014, 21:30
I bought all of it in 2008 to include Wingfoot's book (can't remember the name of the guy that produced it that year)

Dan Bruce?

max patch
01-08-2014, 21:59
I bought all of it in 2008 to include Wingfoot's book (can't remember the name of the guy that produced it that year)

Dan Bruce?

Bob McCaw...

mhaddon
01-09-2014, 01:04
I was just coming to ask this question! Guess I will buy AWOL :)

QiWiz
01-09-2014, 17:41
I think AWOL's book has the most useful layout and organization. Worth every penny.

RED-DOG
01-09-2014, 19:19
I have always used the AT Companion, on all three of my thru's

ryanwflynn
01-10-2014, 04:28
I took the AT Companion on my thru and was satisfied. You can purchase it for a kindle and save weight as well as have it on your iPhone. I had an iPhone map app which gave evelations. I recall many hikers being frustrated in 2012 on occasion with AWOL's book having some errors. Since many other hikers had AWOL's book, I would read them in shelters and hostels when I had a chance and on occasion take pictures of pages of pertinent info from his book on my iPhone for future reference.

forrest!
01-10-2014, 06:35
Only AWOL has a special edition for Southbounders. Don't the other guides have to be read backwards for SOBO? I'm not sure, I've only used AWOL's guide.

squeezebox
01-10-2014, 13:35
I will bring my 2010 guide books and maps and get the Awol book for a big section or thru of the appropriate year. Imagine you made a blue blaze mistake and did not have a map and compass even to figure where N is. With a map and compass you are not neccessarly lost . You're misplaced for a while.

RED-DOG
01-10-2014, 13:55
I will bring my 2010 guide books and maps and get the Awol book for a big section or thru of the appropriate year. Imagine you made a blue blaze mistake and did not have a map and compass even to figure where N is. With a map and compass you are not neccessarly lost . You're misplaced for a while.
Even a blue blaze mistake all you have to do is back track to the last White blaze, all you have to do is Follow the WB's.

sbeatrice13
01-10-2014, 15:12
Def buying AWOL!!

mrcoffeect
01-11-2014, 10:50
Even a blue blaze mistake all you have to do is back track to the last White blaze, all you have to do is Follow the WB's.


Just like connect the dots, But for grown-ups. It really is that simple.
If you let it be.

aficion
01-11-2014, 10:57
Sheets from AT Data book have served my section hiking purposes. Not sure I will carry any printed trail info on my SOBO through attempt in a couple of years.

CarlZ993
01-11-2014, 11:03
The difference between the 2 is slight. The cost is about the same, about the same size and weight. The information is about the same. They are organized about the same. For several years now the AWOL guide has won out in popularity and has a reputation for being more in tune with hiker wants. The Thru-hikers Companion was seen by some including myself as rigid and stuck in the mud, not robust or aggressive with updates, and not willing chance any radical improvements. Then I received the new and improved 2114 Companion. The new profile maps have made it much better.
There is no longer much difference between the 2.
I will never be happy with either book. As a left over hippie from the 60's I want the Abby Hoffman version, steal-this-book style that rails against the clubs and lists all the good illegal places to camp, or get cheap gear or how to deal with the laundry in Kent that keeps out hikers.
I want a guide book that helps me stay for free in the Whites or how to avoid the ridgerunners in the Smokeys and where to make that big campfire in New Jersey so the rangers can't find me. The Outlaw hikers companion?
I wonder what changes the 2114 Companion will have? Lot can change in a 100 years. :)

Sugarfoot
01-11-2014, 11:42
I just received my 2014 Companion in PDF (thank you, Sly). The inclusion of the profiles is biggest change. They aren't ghosted under the text and details but are clear and easy to read. I used the AT Guide last year and as has been noted, either will get you where you are going. They are both great resources. I never got comfortable with the myriad of symbols in the AT Guide, probably because without my reading glasses, I couldn't distinguish them. I like the chattiness of the descriptions in the Companion, reminding me of ol' Wingfoot. The Companion includes more of the history of the place and the trail and I think those stories are worth remembering. I'm also going to play with GutHook's iPhone app this year, just for the fun of it.

tiptoe
01-11-2014, 12:18
As a section hiker, I have good things to say about the AT guide books. Some are better than others, but if you want to learn about local lore, geology, wildflowers, and history, these make for nice reading in the evening, and occasionally the extra detail about the trail comes in handy. Extra weight for sure.